The HTC Touch Diamond, also known as the HTC P3700 or its codename the HTC Diamond,[2] is a Windows Mobile 6.1-powered Pocket PC designed and manufactured by HTC. It is the first device to feature TouchFLO 3D - a new version of the TouchFLO interface, unique to the Touch family.[3] The HTC Touch Diamond was first available in Hong Kong in late May 2008.[4][5] It was available across all major European carriers in June 2008, and later in the year in other parts of the world.[6] The American Touch Diamond was launched on September 14, 2008 on the Sprint[7] network, and April 10, 2009 on the Verizon Wireless network.[8] The European release date was slightly delayed by a last-minute ROM update.[9] The carrier bound names for this phone include T-Mobile MDA Compact IV,[4]O2 XDA Diamond[10] and O2 XDA Ignito.[11] It is the official successor of the HTC Touch.[12] The successor to the Touch Diamond - the HTC Touch Diamond2 - was announced in February 2009 for Q2 2009 release outside the US and Q4 release estimated for North America.

Contents

HTC opted for resistive technology for the touchscreen. The reason cited by Horace Luke, HTC's Chief Innovation Officer, was that the resistive touch screen is better for Asian character recognition.[13] However, the buttons beneath the screen, as well as being pressable buttons, have capacitive touch sensitivity. This feature is used by the camera application to auto-focus the camera as a finger approaches to press the button that will take a picture.[14]

Luke also noted that this is the thinnest device that HTC has designed to date.[15]

Some people find that the Touch Diamond's battery life is too short. Consequently, batteries offering double the capacity of the included battery are being sold by third parties and HTC itself sells an extended battery with 50% extra capacity.[16][17]

The screen turns itself off when a person is on a call. This is to prevent the screen accepting unwanted inputs from the user's face when they are making a call, but it also requires the user to turn the screen back on if they want to use the screen. Removing the stylus when in a phone call both turns on the screen and starts up the notes application (if so selected as an option by the user).[18]

The Touch Diamond uses HTC's unique TouchFLO 3D user interface. This interface makes it easier for users to accomplish common tasks using their fingers rather than a stylus. TouchFLO 3D consists of tabs, and the user switches between tabs by sliding his or her finger along the row of tabs at the bottom of the screen. The 10 tabs are:[19]

Home - Displays the date and time, the time the alarm is set for, any missed calls, and upcoming calendar appointments. Flicking the clock upwards reveals more appointments.

People - Shows pictures of contacts in a rolodex style which can be flipped through. An alternate slider bar of contacts is also included on the right side of the tab for faster browsing.

Messages - Displays the 25 last received text messages that fly on and off screen.

Mail - Displays received email messages, from up to 4 different email accounts, in an envelope. Individual emails may be flipped through.

Internet - Displays a link to open the Opera web browser, bookmarks to favorite websites, and a built-in YouTube application.

Photos and Videos - Shows photos and videos that can be flipped through, and buttons to launch the camera to take pictures and record video.

Music - Displays cover art of music that flips through in a linear format. Music can be played directly from the tab, and can be forwarded/rewound by touching the progress slider. The library, which can be accessed pressing the Left Softkey, also uses the TouchFLO 3D interface to allow users to sort music by:

Now Playing

Artists

Albums

Playlists

All Songs

Genres

Composers

Purchased

Weather - Displays weather for up to 10 cities, including a 5-day forecast.

Settings - Provides access to the following system settings:

Sync Data - to start ActiveSync

Sound - to change the ringtone and profile settings

Wallpaper - to set the background image of the Home tab

Communications - to turn Airplane Mode, Phone, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi on or off

Data - to change weather download settings

About - displays TouchFLO 3D version information

Programs - Displays a grid of 18 programs that the user can choose to allow them to launch programs quickly. A list of every program installed on the device is also available.

Each tab has two soft keys which provide access to functions associated with a tab or tab customisation (the 'More' softkey usually takes the user to the applicable Windows Mobile-menu). The background of the Home tab can be customised via the Settings tab.[19]

The Touch Diamond uses Opera Mobile as its default Web browser, though Internet Explorer, a standard part of Windows Mobile, is also included. It offers features such as tabbed browsing, improved zoom features, and text reflow.[20] The browser can change the orientation of the page between portrait and landscape modes depending on the way the accelerometer senses the device is being held (not in Internet Explorer). Opera is also capable of downloading any file directly to the device, as long as the device's internal storage has enough free space.

Teeter is a videogame utilizing the accelerometer of the Touch Diamond in which the player guides a ball to a target by tilting the device, avoiding obstacles such as walls and holes. The device vibrates when the ball hits a wall, giving the illusion that a real ball is inside the device.

Over one million units were shipped in six weeks, compared to the HTC Touch, which took 5 months to reach the same milestone. HTC consequently raised its sales projection for 2008 from two to three million units.[21]